Mike Stobe/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been suspended 162 games by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz for his involvement in Major League Baseball's Biogenesis scandal.

Rodriguez' original ban was for 211 games, but he appealed the decision, and still appeared in 44 games for the Yankees in 2013.

"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," Rodriguez said in a statement. "This is one man's decision that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involved me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable."

Rodriguez will not be paid during his suspension, and will lose about $24 million in salary as a result. The Yankees will still owe him $61 million through the 2017 season.

The 38-year-old Rodriguez is expected to attempt to report to Spring Training despite the suspension handed down.